PrivyGuy: Ask Men's Celebrity stylist Jimmy Au

Privy Guys listen up. I caught up with celebrity men's stylist to the stars, Jimmy Au to get an exclusive insight on his design tricks and how to dress well, look great and like most men try to do: appear taller. Jimmy Au has an amazing niche in Hollywood. He specializes in dressing men 5'8 and under. Danny Divito, Tom Cruise and many more stars have come to him for custom suits and tricks of the trade for red carpet looks to make these men appear as tall as their leading ladies. Privydoll wondered if some of his fashion tricks could apply to woman's styling as well.


 PrivyDoll: Although your expertise is in men's clothing, are there unisex tricks, in your opinion to elongate the legs or assist in dressing the shorter female?

Jimmy AU: Not exactly. It depends who you are trying to impress. Most women and men seem to favor taller men, so shorter men should either attempt to not look short or try to look taller (truly two different things). Women, however have a different situation. Some men find "petite" attractive, so looking taller isn't always the motive. If you are not looking to impress a man personally, but professionally, then adding height may be good. When wearing suit pants you want to wear the longest hem you can without it breaking too much if at all. Women can have a long pant leg by wearing heels. Wearing stripes works well for both men and women. Choose widths wisely. A wider stripe will make you look more petite. There are differing opinions on proper shirt and suit sleeve lengths for women, but the one rule that works is that you must allow a little shirt cuff to show through the sleeve opening. The shorter your arms, the less you need to show. But you should show a little cuff. It helps frame the arm.

The Emmys were on Sunday, what was the top men's trends seen on the red carpet?

The top men's trends were the return of bow ties and the continued use of peak lapels. Several men even experimented with one button single breasted models and shawl collars or both.

I am sure some fans would be surprised how some of their favorite celebrity men are actually quite a bit shorter than they are perceived with some of the Hollywood tricks they use in the movies. What are a couple celebrities that are 5'8 and under?

Can't say. I feel like I'm exposing a client secret. Celebrities, stylists and costume designers often times come to Jimmy Au's in order to hide the fact that their clients are shorter, unless it plays a role in their character. If you can't tell how tall they are, then my father's clothing collection has done its job. The secret is in the proportions of my father's designs.

With the help of your custom tailoring what men’s designers in general are fans of the shorter male?

None. Jimmy Au is the only designer designing clothes specifically for shorter men (5'8" or shorter). Our collection doesn't even translate to regular sizes if scaled up. Most designers design with a 5'10"-6'0" man in mind. They scale up and down from there with their technical pattern making teams as best they can. Most do not translate scaling down to shorter men. Often times their designs are over sized.

 You have worked with many celebrities, what 'under 5'8 male do you wish to work with that needs your fashion assistance?

We would love to work with ANY short actor who is currently in denial about their height. Most of these guys can be easily spotted often wearing clothes that are clearly too big or not tailored to fit them. Men of all heights should have their clothes checked by a tailor. Sloppy isn't the same as casual. Unfortunately sloppy on a shorter man translates into "look what I borrowed from my older brother." Shorter men may not know how much better they can look because there aren't many resources out there. Shorter men are made to settle.

Where can our Privy Guy's find you for fashion assistance? 

We are located at 9408 Brighton Way in Beverly Hills, CA 90210 or you can visit our website at JimmyAus.com. We are planning traveling trunk shows in the near future and into 2011. We can help in revamping a man's business and personal wardrobe.